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Bhopal, Nov 4 (IANS) A notification issued by the Madhya Pradesh government’s electricity department on Tuesday directing that power supply to agricultural feeders should not exceed 10 hours a day has sparked a new controversy in the state.
The notification issued by Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitara Company states that this order applies to all distribution companies operating under its jurisdiction.
A copy of the order has also been sent to power distribution companies operating in different parts of the state.
The order states that if power is supplied for agricultural feeders for more than 10 hours in a day, it will be considered a violation and one day’s salary of the operator concerned will be deducted as penalty.
A similar warning was also issued to senior officials of the state electricity department.
The order states that even if the demand for electricity is high due to wet soil (agricultural land), the supply of electricity should not exceed 10 hours and supply beyond that will be considered a violation of the rules.
“All superintending engineers, executive engineers and assistant engineers have to ensure strict compliance with the instructions. Any violation should be reported to the company headwaters along with an action taken report,” the order from the state power department said.
Interestingly, such a directive has come at a time when Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has promised that the BJP-led state government will ensure 24×7 power supply for agricultural purposes in the state.
The Congress criticized the BJP-led state government, claiming that farmers are not getting power supply for more than seven to eight hours a day and such an order will cause more trouble to the farmers.
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Arun Yadav alleged that the BJP-led state government has failed to fulfill its commitment to the people of Madhya Pradesh and is now issuing “Tughlaq-like diktats” to force farmers to suffer further.
Yadav said, “BJP certainly talks about the welfare of farmers, but it failed to provide any help in Madhya Pradesh. Farmers have already lost crops due to bad unseasonal rains and when sowing of wheat crop is about to begin, this order to restrict power supply is injustice to them.”
The Congress leader alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Mohan has failed to purchase farmers’ produce at the maximum support price (MSP).
He claimed that the state government, in a letter to the Central government, has already expressed its inability to provide MSP to the farmers in the state.
–IANS
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